Two minutes with Sebby Holmes, Head Chef and Founder at Farang
'Farang' loosely translates to 'foreigner' in Thai. What in particular drew you to Thai cuisine when you set up Farang back in 2015 and how does your interpretation differ from other restaurants?
I started cooking Thai food after graduating from university, and after that there was no going back. The delicate balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy is something that became integral to everything I cooked. When I set up Farang, I chose the name to emphasise that I was not claiming to be authentic; I am a British chef with a love and passion for Thai cuisine, cooking methods and ingredients. We use the best ingredients we can get our hands on from Thailand and the UK and that fusion of cooking styles and ingredients is one of the things that sets us apart.
What do you think is the most underrated ingredient in your kitchen?
A good quality fish sauce. Fish sauce is fundamental to many of our dishes - it is an instant umami, salty, taste of the sea and just a few drops can make all the difference to an array of dishes and condiments. We use Megachef fish sauce, which can be tricky to find but in my opinion is the best on the market.
Farang's sister company Payst sells a range of curry pastes and stir fry and dipping sauces. What sets Payst products apart from other curry pastes and stir fry sauces on the market?
Payst really picked up momentum during the pandemic, when there was a huge uplift in people wanting restaurant standard ingredients at home. All of the recipes are my own, carefully adapted and scaled up to give the customer the closest thing they can get to what we serve in the restaurant.
The fresh curry pastes are handmade by us in small batches, in exactly the same way as they are for Farang, with no nasties or preservatives. We pre-season them with quality palm sugar and fish sauce, and they are sold refrigerated so aren't pasteurised like the more readily available, ambient curry pastes - keeping the colour and freshness within the pot. The same level of care and love goes into our dipping sauces and stir-fry sauces too.